Israel seizes Gaza's vital Rafah crossing, but the US says it isn't the full invasion many fear Israeli troops seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday in what the White House described as a limited operation, as fears mount of a full-scale invasion of the southern city and talks with Hamas over a cease-fire and hostage release remain on a knife’s edge. The U.N. warned of a potential collapse of the flow of aid to Palestinians from the closure the Rafah crossing from Egypt and the other main crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom, from Israel, at a…

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russia, Ukraine trade allegations of chemical weapons use Russia and Ukraine have accused each other at the global chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague of using banned toxins on the battlefield, the organisation said on Tuesday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said that the accusations were "insufficiently substantiated" but added: "The situation remains volatile and extremely concerning regarding the possible re-emergence of use of toxic chemicals as weapons." Neither Russia nor Ukraine has formally asked the OPCW to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons, it said. Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister,…